How to Make Karak Tea

1. Classic Karak Tea

Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 10 minutes
Serves: 2 people

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons of pearl tea (loose black tea)
• ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
• 2 cardamom pods
• 1 slice of fresh ginger
• ½ cup sweetened condensed milk
• 2 cloves
• 2 tablespoons of honey
• A pinch of turmeric

Instructions:

1. In a small saucepan, bring water to a boil.
2. Add turmeric, cardamom, ginger slice, cloves, and thyme. Simmer for 5 minutes.
3. Stir in the tea and let it simmer on low heat until it reaches a light boil.
4. Add honey and stir well until fully dissolved.
5. Pour in the desired amount of condensed milk (more or less depending on taste).
6. Strain the tea through a fine mesh sieve into cups and serve warm.

2. Karak Tea, Black Dried Lime Tea, and Yellow Lemon Tea

Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 30 minutes
Serves: 5 people

A. Karak Tea

Ingredients:

• 1 teaspoon crushed cardamom
• 4 cups boiling water
• Saffron threads
• 1 can of evaporated milk
• Sugar (to taste)
• Loose leaf black tea

Instructions:

1. In a pot, combine tea leaves and water. Simmer gently for 15 minutes.
2. Add cardamom, saffron, and evaporated milk. Let the mixture simmer for another 30 minutes.
3. Pour into serving cups. You may enhance the flavor with whole spices like cloves, cinnamon sticks, or fresh ginger slices.

B. Black Dried Lime Tea (Loomi Tea)

Ingredients:

• 3–4 dried black limes (loomi)
• 3 cups boiling water
• Sugar (to taste)

Instructions:

1. Crush the dried limes and remove the seeds to prevent bitterness.
2. Add them to boiling water and simmer on low heat for 15 minutes.
3. Sweeten to taste. You can adjust the lime quantity depending on your preferred sourness.

C. Yellow Lemon Tea

Ingredients:

• 3 cups boiling water
• ½ cup concentrated lemon syrup
• 4 slices of fresh ginger
• ¼ teaspoon saffron threads
• Sugar (to taste)

Instructions:

1. In a teapot, combine boiling water, lemon syrup, ginger, and saffron.
2. Let the tea simmer on low heat for 20 minutes to allow the ginger flavor to infuse.
3. Serve hot with sugar as desired. You can reduce or increase the lemon syrup to adjust tartness. In summer, ginger can be omitted for a lighter version.

3. Saudi-Style Karak Tea

Preparation Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 10 minutes
Serves: 2 people

Ingredients:

• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 cups fresh milk
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
• 2 whole cloves
• 2 tea bags or 1 tablespoon loose tea

Instructions:

1. In a kettle or saucepan, heat the milk with cinnamon, cardamom, and cloves until it boils.
2. Add the tea and let everything boil together for about 1 minute.

3. Strain the tea through a fine mesh sieve and serve hot.

    

References:

• Karak Tea Recipe
• Loomi Tea and Lemon Tea Info
• Saudi Karak Recipe